View full sizePelham City Councilman Maurice Mercer listens to Pelham-area optometrist Douglas Clark after the board's meeting on Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. Clark has announced his candidacy for the state House District 43 seat that Mary Sue McClurkin is vacating at the end of her term in 2014. Councilwoman Karyl Rice is in the background. (Martin J. Reed / mreed@al.com)

PELHAM, Alabama -- A longtime Pelham-area optometrist
briefly addressed the City Council on Monday night about his election bid to
replace retiring state House member Mary Sue McClurkin of Indian Springs
Village in 2014.

Douglas Clark, who has operated Pelham Eye Care for 30
years, told the council he has announced his candidacy for House District 43. "The
district does represent a significant portion of the Pelham area," he said.

The 56-year-old said he has been active in the Pelham
community for 30 years with his practice, which employs 29 people. In an
interview after the meeting, Clark said he wants to give back to the community.

"A lot of it is community service and giving back to the
community that has been very rewarding to me" and his wife, Connie Clark, he
said. His wife started Merle Norman cosmetics stores in the area three decades
ago.

He graduated from Trussville High School and decided with
his wife to relocate to the Pelham area after graduating from the University of
Alabama and later the UAB School of Optometry in 1982. In addition to Pelham
Eye Care, Clark operates Calera Family Eye Care and Clanton Eye Care.

His plans for government include reducing spending and
helping businesses. "Reeling in some of the government expenses is the key to
economic growth," he said.

Clark serves on the Board of Trustees for the Southern
College of Optometry. Gov. Robert Bentley appointed him to the Alabama Board of
Optometry, and he is a past president of the Alabama Optometric Association, the Birmingham Optometric Society
and the Southern Council of Optometry.

He is past chairman of the SafeHouse of Shelby
County board, and he is a deacon and choir member at Riverchase Baptist Church.

"We have to ensure the economic competitiveness of our
state by being fiscally responsible and investing our funds where they will
have the greatest impact on quality of life for ourselves and our children," Clark
said in an announcement about his candidacy on Aug. 29.

"This district has been represented by a strong conservative
for the last 16 years and while filling Mary Sue's shoes will be a challenge,
voters in Shelby County can be certain that I am a small government
conservative who shares Shelby County values," he said.

The Clarks have two daughters: Dru, a recent graduate of
Cumberland School of Law, and Skylar, a junior at Indian Springs School. They
live in Southlake.